1994 Jaguar XJS 4.0

Bought two years ago from Studio Cars of Preston, little is known of the car before the current owner acquired it. The seller tells us that he believes it was restored in the 2000s although we have been unable to confirm this via the paperwork.

However, with a recorded mileage of just 66,500 miles that is supported by its online MOT and service history folder, its stunning condition bears testament to the fact that if it hasn’t been restored it has clearly only ever seen light use, something the vendor has maintained; he’s only covered around 1,000 miles in the time he’s owned it and has always kept it garaged when it hasn’t been in use.

The coachwork is in fantastic condition, being almost free of the sort of scuffs and marks that any car of this age will have accumulated. We’re not sure whether this is good fortune and a series of obsessive owners or the result of a top-notch respray as part of the restoration the owner mentioned. If pushed, we’d suggest it’s more likely to be the former given how good the panel gaps still are but we’d encourage potential bidders to use the Contact Seller button and see the car for themselves before auction end to form their own opinion. 

What is certain is that it appears to be completely free of rust or serious corrosion, even around the wheelarches, which are a notorious weakness of the model. The only outstanding work that we can see is a few small bits of underseal which are flaking off. It wouldn’t be a big job to wire brush the loose stuff off and then touch up the occasional tiny piece of bare metal with a decent underseal, after which the car should be fighting fit and ready to do battle with another quarter-century’s worth of road salt.

The alloy wheels are free of scuffs, dents and dings but do bear the start of some small areas of light electrolytic corrosion. However, we don’t think that they need refurbishing just yet and are shod with lovely matching Pirelli P6000 tyres, all of which have good tread.

The interior of this car is as glorious as that of any XJS we’ve ever seen; the cream leather and burr walnut complement the dark metallic green paintwork perfectly and it is all in stunning condition. The seat leather does bear some minor patination but all four seats are free of rips, scuffs and holes. The door cards, headlining and carpets are in excellent condition, supporting the car’s low mileage, careful stewardship and possible refurbishment.

The owner tells us the air-conditioning is not functioning, but he was able to tell us that everything else works as it should, including the original Jaguar-branded radio-cassette player.

The boot is immaculate and still contains the original Jaguar toolkit.

The owner tells us that the car is running as well as you’d expect of a car that has been pampered to the extent that this one has. He confirms that it starts on the button and drives “like new” and is so confident in its condition that he would welcome potential bidders visiting to examine the car for themselves.

The owner had the car serviced in June 2017 by Farnell, his local Jaguar main dealer. Since that time the car has only covered a couple of hundred miles. He confirms that the car does have a full service history, if visiting, please take the opportunity to confirm details.

The online MOT history check shows absolutely nothing of concern and the MOT itself runs out in June 2019. (Please note: the car appears to have had at least three different cherished number plates in its time. Indeed, the current front number plate fell off just before arriving at the photographic location, which is why the front and rear don’t match in some of the shots. The number is L64 RDT)

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you can see the thick folder of old invoices, bills and other paperwork to support the seller’s claim that this car has an impressively comprehensive service history.

Good Jaguar XJSs will always be in demand and this is one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it’s so good that we’d strongly encourage you to make the journey up to Bradford in order to appreciate its condition for yourself; cars like this don’t come along very often and we’d hate you to miss out on this investment-grade example of a classic British grand touring car.

And, there’s more good news, because the seller isn’t a greedy man and has set the reserve at a very sensible level. We expect the lucky new owner will only have to find around £10,000 to make it theirs - and yes, while we accept that there are cheaper examples out there, we don’t think they will be in the same condition as this. 

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Bradford, West Yorkshire; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.